Court advised to dismiss challenge against law that lets EU block funds to states that curb judicial independence
EU authorities can cut funds to member states that are corrupt and curb independent courts, a senior adviser to the bloc’s top court has said.
In a setback for the nationalist governments of Poland and Hungary, a European court of justice senior lawyer said a law linking EU funds to respect for the rule of law was legally sound.
Continue reading...Survey also finds adults aged 18-24 and women more concerned about personal finances than other groups
Young people and women have taken the hardest psychological and financial hit from the pandemic, a YouGov survey has found – but few people anywhere are considering changing their lives as a result of it.
The annual YouGov-Cambridge Globalism Project found that in many of the 27 countries surveyed, young people were consistently more likely than their elders to feel the Covid crisis had made their financial and mental health concerns worse.
Continue reading...Opposition leader Péter Márki-Zay says he will restore rule of law if he wins next April’s elections
The opposition leader who hopes to topple Hungary’s autocratic ruler, Viktor Orbán, has vowed to introduce a new constitution and “restore the rule of law” if he wins next April’s elections.
Péter Márki-Zay, a small-town mayor who became the surprise choice as prime ministerial candidate of six opposition parties, made the comments during a visit to Brussels, where he is meeting senior EU officials and politicians, with the message that his priorities are democracy and European integration.
Continue reading...Six-party grouping ahead by four points after choosing Péter Márki-Zay as prime ministerial candidate
A six-party opposition alliance that aims to topple Hungary’s Viktor Orbán in elections next year has pulled four points clear of the authoritarian prime minister’s Fidesz party after electing a common leader, according to an opinion poll.
The poll, published late on Wednesday, 10 days after the alliance chose a small-town mayor, Péter Márki-Zay, as its prime ministerial candidate, showed support for the united opposition at 39%, compared with 35% for Fidesz and 23% who were unsure.
Continue reading...Dániel Németh’s phones infected with Pegasus software while reporting on one of Hungary’s richest men
Dániel Németh, a Budapest-based photojournalist, has tried to keep a low profile in his groundbreaking work investigating and documenting the luxury lifestyle of Hungary’s ruling elite.
While his name is not well known, the 46-year-old has managed to use his drone, and public flight and ship tracking data, to find and photograph politicians and pro-government business figures, exposing their hidden luxuries such as yachts in exotic locations.
Continue reading...Campaigners fear ban emboldens anti-choice governments as more aggressive opposition, better organised and funded, spreads from US
The new anti-abortion law in Texas is a “terrifying” reminder of the fragility of hard-won rights, pro-choice activists have said, as they warn of a “more aggressive, much better organised [and] better funded” global opposition movement.
Pro-choice campaigners have seen several victories in recent years, including in Ireland, Argentina and, most recently, Mexico, where the supreme court ruled last week that criminalising abortion was unconstitutional. Another is hoped for later this month when the tiny enclave of San Marino, landlocked within Italy, holds a highly charged referendum.
Continue reading...Didier Reynders condemns hacking of political opponents and journalists and says bloc closely watching Hungary investigation
The EU must swiftly legislate to further protect the rights of activists, journalists and politicians following the Pegasus spyware scandal, and the perpetrators of illegal tapping must be prosecuted, the bloc’s justice commissioner has told the European parliament.
Didier Reynders told MEPs that the European Commission “totally condemned” alleged attempts by national security services to illegally access information on political opponents through their phones.
Continue reading...Pontiff’s statement at start of four-day central Europe tour at odds with far-right PM’s anti-migrant stance
Pope Francis has urged Hungary to “extend its arms towards everyone” in an apparent veiled critique of Viktor Orbán’s anti-migrant policies, as the pontiff began a four-day visit to central Europe in his first big international outing since undergoing intestinal surgery in July.
Francis, 84, appeared in good form during his visit to Budapest, presiding over a lengthy mass and standing as he waved to crowds from his open-sided popemobile. He used a golf cart to avoid walking long distances indoors and confessed at one point that he had to sit because “I’m not 15 any more”. But otherwise he kept up the typical gruelling pace of a papal trip.
Continue reading...In his first international trip since undergoing intestinal surgery in July, Pope Francis urged Hungary to 'extend its arms towards everyone'. His stance on immigration and refugees stands in stark contrast to Viktor Orbán, who was in in the front row as the pontiff spoke
Continue reading...It was an evening when, yet again, England had more than mere footballing problems thrown at them. It started with a hail of plastic cups, first for Raheem Sterling and then Luke Shaw, from the diehard Hungary supporters behind one of the goals, and it escalated to a firework – which was hurled in the wake of Harry Maguire’s header for 3-0.
England’s players were celebrating as a group and it was a mighty relief that it missed its target, fizzing for a while before burning out. And then in the closing stages came the low point that everybody had dreaded.
Continue reading...Patrik and Zsolt are activists and YouTubers representing LGBTQ+ people in Hungary, where a new 'anti-paedophile' law means it is illegal to educate about or to promote LGBTQ+ issues to under-18s. This law follows earlier restrictions by Viktor Orbán's government on trans rights and adoption by gay parents. Patrik and Zsolt think gay people are the latest scapegoats for the governing Fidesz party, but Budapest's Pride parade is an opportunity to protest against the new laws and to rally support.
Continue reading...For the hardline conservatives ruling Poland and Hungary, the transition from communism to liberal democracy was a mirage. They fervently believe a more decisive break with the past is needed to achieve national liberation. By Nicholas Mulder
Continue reading...A roundup of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Haiti to Pakistan
Continue reading...Hungarians joined the annual Budapest Pride march to support LGBTQ people and oppose a law that limits teaching about homosexuality and transgender issues in schools. Organisers said in a statement the rally would show opposition to 'power-hungry politicians' and reject intimidation of LGBTQ people
Continue reading...Demonstrators say law that bans teaching of issue in schools is causing division in Hungary
Thousands of Hungarians have joined the annual Budapest Pride march to support LGBTQ people and protest against a law that limits teaching about homosexuality and transgender issues in schools.
Hungary’s nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, in power since 2010, has introduced social policies that he says aim to safeguard traditional Christian values from western liberalism, stoking tensions with the EU.
Continue reading...Hungary’s LGBT community expects high turnout for march on Saturday marking end of Pride month
Saturday’s Pride march in Budapest will be “a celebration, but also a protest”, organisers have said, as Hungary’s LGBT community prepares to rally in defiance of an escalating anti-gay campaign by the country’s government.
Johanna Majercsik, one of the organisers of Pride month in Budapest, which culminates with the march, said she expected to see many more in attendance than the roughly 20,000 marchers who attended the last Pride march in the city, two years ago.
Continue reading...Prime minister announces referendum on ‘child protection’ three days before Budapest Pride march
Hungary’s far-right prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has announced that his government will hold a nationwide referendum on “child protection”, a euphemism for parts of a recent law widely condemned as discriminatory that bans any portrayal of LGBT people in materials meant for children.
“LGBTQ activists visit kindergartens and schools and conduct sexual education classes. They want to do this here in Hungary as well,” said Orbán in a Facebook video statement placed on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Ruling is part of ongoing fight for rule of law and freedom from discrimination in heart Europe
The EU executive has launched legal action against Hungary and Poland to defend LGBTQ+ rights in the latest battle over values with the two nationalist governments in central Europe.
The announcement that Hungary and Poland’s governments could end up in the EU’s highest court is part of an ongoing existential fight for the rule of law and freedom from discrimination in the heart of Europe.
Continue reading...Resolution is passed to launch legal action, but Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán remains defiant
The European parliament has denounced a Hungarian law that bans gay people from appearing in educational materials or on primetime TV as “a clear breach” of its principles of equality.
In a resolution voted in Strasbourg on Thursday by a resounding majority, MEPs condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the Hungarian law as “a clear breach of the EU’s values, principles and law”, while urging the European Commission to launch a fast-track legal case against Viktor Orbán’s government.
Continue reading...Action follows Viktor Orbán passing law banning LGBT content in schools and mishandling of EU funds
Ursula von der Leyen is being urged to suspend EU funds to Hungary to force Viktor Orbán to address concerns over politicised courts and corruption.
MEPs who work on the European parliament’s budgetary control committee are calling on the European Commission president to use a newly created EU law to freeze payments to Hungary for “grave breaches of the rule of law”.
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